


where sunshine flecks the green

by MiniNephthys



Category: End Roll (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, Request Meme
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-17
Updated: 2016-09-17
Packaged: 2018-08-15 10:33:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 940
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8052928
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniNephthys/pseuds/MiniNephthys
Summary: Cody helps Tabasa take care of an injured bunny.





	where sunshine flecks the green

“Tabasa! Tabasa, it’s an emergency!”

Cody being in a panic isn’t exactly new, but Tabasa’s quick to answer the door anyway. She’d never let him hear it if it really was an emergency and he took his time. “I’m here, what’s going - oh.”

She’s carrying a young cottontail rabbit in her hands. Judging by size and coat alone, it’s probably around twenty days old.

“I found it out when I was collecting herbs and I couldn’t find its mother anywhere!” she says, sniffling. “You can take care of it, right? Right?”

“Okay, first of all, calm down,” he says. “Let me see him.”

Carefully, Cody hands the rabbit over to Tabasa, who starts checking it over.

“Mother rabbits only return to the nest from sunset to sunrise,” he says. “So there’s a good chance he’s perfectly fine.”

“So… did I ruin things by taking it out of its nest?” Cody asks, wringing her hands together.

“Rabbits have a great sense of smell - if the mom’s around then she’ll still recognize her baby even with you picking it up.” Tabasa pinches the fur at the nape of the neck, and it doesn’t spring back as fast as it should. “But this little guy’s dehydrated. Doesn’t seem too bad, so he should be able to take oral fluids still.”

“Can I help?” she asks. “I feel really bad for the poor thing, so I’m going to do everything I can do for him…!”

Tabasa doesn’t want to tell her how fragile rabbits are. Even if he does all the right things, the rabbit still might not make it.

Instead he says, “He won’t be eating any solid foods right away, but when he does, I’ll need some wild grasses. Can I draw up a list for you?”

“Absolutely!” she says, perking up. “You can count on me.”

Tabasa takes care of most of the delicate duties, like feeding the rabbit a solution of goat milk and pedialyte through a syringe. Rabbits are sensitive to hygiene, so he makes sure Cody washes her hands every time she comes to visit, before she ever touches the baby bunny.

“He’s so cute…” she says, watching its ears twitch. “You think he’ll do okay?”

“He’s been reacting well so far,” Tabasa says, not quite looking at her..

“That’s not a straight answer,” Cody says. “I can handle the truth, Tabasa.”

He gulps. “...I don’t know. Rabbits can get very sick very quickly. Even if we do everything we’re supposed to...”

She doesn’t say anything, just stares at the rabbit with a sad expression.

“Hey, don’t blame yourself,” Tabasa says, and sets a hand on her shoulder. “If you hadn’t brought him in, he wouldn’t have lasted this long. No matter what happens, you did the best you could, okay?”

“Okay,” she says, and offers a weak smile. “...Thanks.”

The rabbit continues getting better, and graduates to solid foods. Cody works overtime getting him enough wild plants to eat, and Tabasa has to admire her work ethic. Maybe he should ask for assistance more often…

“Tabasa, what should we name him?” Cody asks, a book of baby names in hand.

...or maybe not. “We aren’t keeping him,” he says. “As soon as he’s grown enough to survive in the wild, we’ll release him.”

“I-I know that! I just thought that while he’s here, it’d be nice to call him something other than ‘the rabbit’, you know?” she says with a huff.

“That’s a good point, I guess…” Tabasa shrugs. “I’m sure whatever name you pick is fine.”

“Nope! You’re the father, so you have to get equal say in the name,” she says.

There’s a pause, before he asks, “Uh… ‘Father’?”

Cody turns bright red in an instant and nearly drops the book. “W-well! I mean, this is… we’re caring for a baby, right? Even if he’s a rabbit, that’s still what we’re doing, so it felt right to call you that… It doesn’t mean anything!”

Tabasa feels his face heat up. “Of, of course it doesn’t mean anything. I wasn’t gonna say it did.”

“I’m glad we agree.” She looks away from him, still blushing. “So… you look through this book and tell me what names you like.”

They settle on ‘Duke’, because the rabbit’s got them waiting on him hand and foot. Duke’s ears twitch when they tell him what they’re calling him, and they take that as a sign of approval.

It’s not long after that that Tabasa knocks on Cody’s door.

Cody answers it. Behind her, he can see Dogma sitting at her table “Hi, Tabasa. Come in.”

“I can wait if it’s a bad time,” Tabasa says, glancing to Dogma.

“No, please do come in,” he says. Tabasa isn’t completely sure, but he sounds a little grumpier than usual. “Any business you have with Cody, I’m sure you can share with me.”

“Dogma…” Cody sighs. “I told you, we’re not doing anything weird. We’re just raising a bunny together.”

“I’ll make it quick - I just came to say that we should release Duke soon,” Tabasa says. Dogma’s stare is boring holes in him, and he’d like to leave before things get worse. “If you want to come around a little before sunset, we’ll do it together.”

“Is that not suspicious timing?” Dogma asks no one in particular.

Cody smacks him lightly. “I’ll be there! I can’t believe it’s already time to say goodbye… It seems like I picked him up just yesterday.”

...She’s going to cry when they let him go, isn’t she, Tabasa thinks to himself. Well, that’s fine. He’ll remember to bring a handkerchief and a shoulder to cry on.


End file.
